


A Promise By Ring Nose

by BettyHT



Category: Bonanza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-03 07:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16321577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BettyHT/pseuds/BettyHT
Summary: Prequel but not by much. This is an attempt to give background for "The Paiute War" episode and answer some questions. Why had Young Wolf developed animosity toward Adam? Why did Ring Nose agree to come back with Ben knowing he would be jailed or hanged for what had happened? Why was Wilson so intent on getting revenge on the Paiute.





	A Promise By Ring Nose

Chapter 1

"Pa, we have at least a couple of weeks before roundup and the drive. Young Wolf and I haven't had a chance to hunt together for years. This may be the last time we can ever do it. Please give me your blessing."

"I take it you plan to go with or without it then?" Adam's silence was all Ben needed for that answer. His son had taken to acting much more independently ever since he had returned from college, and as he reached his late twenties, it was becoming more pronounced than ever. He still wanted to please his father, but there were times like this one when it was clear that Adam considered himself a man capable of making any decision he needed to make. He was no longer the slender young man with the curly dark hair, singing a tune as he worked. He had hardened into a man of considerable determination and clearly didn't fear his father's authority nor was he reticent any longer of expressing his opinions even when they were at odds with his father's. Ben was still adjusting to this man who was his son. "You need to be back in a week. The roundup may not start for two weeks, but we have some work to get done before then. You can't expect your brothers to do your work for you so you can be on a hunting trip."

"Thank you, Pa. I'll be back in a week."

"You're leaving now?"

"Young Wolf is waiting for me. We have some areas we've decided to go explore. I'll bring back some fresh meat if I can. I'll try for a few wild turkeys too if we see any. I know how you like those drumsticks."

Adam grinned and walked outside. Ben shook his head and then smiled. Adam could be so charming when he was like this. He had been moody lately and frequently at odds with his youngest brother straining the relationship with his middle brother who often had to intervene in the disputes to keep them reasonable. Adam took his responsibilities very seriously and was irritated at the cavalier attitude of the youngest Cartwright who always assumed he could finish tomorrow what he hadn't finished today especially if knocking off early allowed him some time to play. Ben grimaced just a bit knowing how Little Joe was likely to react when he found out that Adam was going hunting with Young Wolf for a week while he and Hoss had to work. Hoss would understand and hopefully would be able to calm his younger brother. Ben knew that Hoss was often forced to play the role of peacemaker and conciliator. It was a natural role for the young man, but Ben hoped he didn't feel slighted by being asked to do it so often. He knew he needed to tell Hoss how much he appreciated the role he played in keeping peace in the family.

Unfortunately Little Joe was riding into the yard as Adam was packing to go. The questions by Little Joe and the answers by Adam seemed inevitably to cause tempers to flare.

"So you get to take another vacation while we do your work again?"

"I haven't had a vacation, as you call it, for over a year. It seems that you take a short vacation on most days and seldom miss a week without a visit to town for a poker game and some carousing."

"You were just gone to San Francisco for three weeks. How is that not a vacation?"

"It was negotiations for buying our cattle and our timber. It took me over a week to get there and nearly that long to travel back. Again, how is that a vacation?"

"You got to have fun while we did all the work again."

"I do as much or more than anyone on this ranch, and I always have."

"Oh, yeah, and then there were those years you were gone to college while we did the work and you lived off the hard earned money we made."

That got a glowering scowl that almost made Little Joe apologize for his remark except he never apologized to Adam unless ordered to do so by their father. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction of an outright apology. It seemed to Little Joe that Adam got to do what he pleased while he had to always ask his father's permission to do anything. It irritated him, and he took out that irritation on his oldest brother.

"Little Joe, you were a child while I was in college so you hardly have a complaint to make. I worked on this ranch for nearly a dozen years before I went to college. I didn't get to go to school like you for half the year. I worked every day."

"I'm tired of hearing about the work you did while I was still growing up. How about talking about the work we do now that we're both men."

"At seventeen, I think you still have a ways to go before you're a man. You can sneak out of the house to go to town to play poker and carouse, but that doesn't make you a man. A man would walk out the front door to get his horse to ride to town not climb out on the porch roof through Hoss' window and shimmy down a pine tree like a squirrel."

"You're just jealous. I won over forty dollars in my last poker game."

"Yes, and how many times before that did you lose?" Then it was Little Joe's chance to glower especially because he had no answer for that. "I'd rather earn my money anyway than taking away some miner's hard earned salary."

Arriving home about that time, Hoss shook his head. It sounded like his brothers were at it again. Only hearing their two voices, his only relief was that their father must not have heard this latest altercation, but it was only a matter of time before he did. Hoss dismounted and led Chubb into the stable. "Now what's got you two all riled up again? Cain't a body get no rest from you two sniping at each other all the time?"

"I'm going to do some hunting. Little Joe doesn't seem to think I have the right to do that."

"You gonna bring back some venison? I ain't had no good venison stew for a while now. Hop Sing puts that brandy in there and them onions and big ole chunks of potatoes and such. He makes a darn tasty stew."

"That's all you have to say about Adam taking off again after he's only been home a week?"

"I figure he's gonna bring some venison so what's the big deal."

"You always take his side. Why is that, Hoss?"

"Way I see it, younger brother, there ain't no sides. We all got things to do, and as far as I can tell and I know, Adam does his share. I can't see nothing wrong with him doing a little hunting. I wouldn't mind a hunting trip myself."

"Hoss, how about after the drive? We could go through the mountains and look for bighorns or antelope in the valleys." Adam smiled at his middle brother. Hoss was so much easier to have as a brother, but they had forged their friendship and brotherhood in a time of deprivation and danger which Little Joe had never known.

"Now that sounds like a good plan. You going alone this time?"

"No, Young Wolf and I are going. It may be the last time we get to do this. They keep moving farther north to get away from the miners and the homesteaders who keep taking more of their land. Young Wolf has a wife and baby now too, and has to help handle any trouble that comes up in the tribe. He speaks English well enough that he does a lot of the negotiating for Winnemucca too. With our lives going like they are, we haven't had much time together over the last few years."

"You headed to the northwest?"

"Yes, that's the best place for what we want to do. Young Wolf is waiting at the line cabin for me."

"Watch yourself up there. There are a lot of tracks of men cutting through on their way to California. You know some of 'em don't have much in the way of a conscience or even common sense for that matter. Your rifles and horses could be tempting to some of them."

""They'll never see us. We know a lot more about tracking and moving through those hills than a bunch of Midwestern farm boys on their way to California to strike it rich even though no one ever does especially now that the corporations are stepping in and buying up the claims."

"You know that the last few years, a lot of those men haven't stayed on the right side of the law. I just want you to be careful out there."

Adam had finished packing up by then and led Sport outside, mounted up, and turned to wave at the house as Ben had stepped outside to see his oldest son off on a hunting trip. Joe glowered in the background. "I'll see all of you in a week." Within a few hours, Adam neared where he intended to rendezvous with Young Wolf. He was thinking about Little Joe and how they often were at odds. He didn't have a way to remedy the situation because there was a lot about the situation he did not understand. Young Wolf caught him off guard bursting from some brush and brandishing his bow before Adam had a chance to pull his pistol.

"You could get yourself killed with a stunt like that."

"Not when you are so slow and your mind travels a different road than your horse. My father would be very disappointed knowing that his teaching did so little good with this one."

"Sorry. I was thinking about Little Joe."

"Another argument with the fiery one?" Adam nodded. "My friend, he is the coyote, running, playing tricks, and nipping at your heels or yapping at nothing. You are the cougar who wants to know all and see all, planning every move, and striking with speed and accuracy when challenged. The two of you will always be thus."

"So we'll always fight?"

"At least argue. I cannot see brother fighting brother. It is as with you and I. We are different, but we are brothers. We may disagree, but we do not fight."

"I seem to remember when I liked that maiden you liked, there was a fight."

"Ah, yes, when there are women, everything changes. Be careful what you say now about my wife. We could yet have a fight."

"No, I'm glad I won that one. You got to marry her."

"You do not think my wife is a valuable prize?"

"For you, yes. But I still have my freedom. You have a family."

"I think you jest, but in your heart, you yearn for the same that I have."

"Once again, you are . . ."

Any further conversation was cut off with the sound of gunfire in the distance. There were many shots, then several shots, and then more again. It sounded like a battle, and it was on the Ponderosa. Adam and Young Wolf turned in unison to ride to where the sounds of battle had stopped. It was nearly dark when they neared the site and were disturbed by what they saw. There was a group of white men, and they had Indian horses some carrying packs of furs as well as several haunches of an antelope that they were proceeding to carve up in preparation for a feast. Carefully keeping hidden, Adam and Young Wolf circled around the camp but found no bodies nor any indication that any Indians had been killed.

"Your people?"

"Yes, those are our horses, and those must be the furs that were to be brought to town and traded for supplies."

"There are too many of them for the two of us. What do you want to do?"

"For now, we pull back and make camp. We can do nothing now as the sun deserts us. It will be too dark soon to see where we are going. In the morning, there may be others here to try to get the furs. We will wait and listen. If no one comes, we can follow these men until we get an opportunity to get our furs and our horses back."

"Young Wolf, I can get the sheriff and he can handle this. That way there would be no chance that your young men would end up in jail for killing some white men."

"We would not kill unless we had to defend ourselves."

"Yes, and do you think those men are going to let the young men come back and take those horses and furs away from them. There will be a fight, and some men will die. That's not what you want, is it?"

"As long as it is only white men who die, I would accept that." Seeing Adam's look after that, Young Wolf relented. "Yes, you go get your sheriff, and I will try to talk with the young men, but know that I may not be successful."

"I trust you. You'll stop them. I'll ride as fast as I can. Track these men, and we'll follow your sign."

Young Wolf watched as Adam rode off toward Virginia City. He had already heard sounds in the trees letting him know that the young men were there. They approached him after Adam had left.

"We must talk. How will we get our furs and horse back without killing these men?"

"We cannot. They must die."

Young Wolf nodded. He couldn't see any other way to do it either, but at least his good friend would not be there to have his heart torn in two by watching his friends kill some of his people even if they were men with bad hearts. Young Wolf and the young men worked out a plan.

Chapter 2

The signs of violence were everywhere. Adam and Roy walked around the scene of devastation reluctantly. Roy knew that he would have to get a posse and go after the men who had done this, and Adam knew that the men Roy would seek were young Paiute. From time in the Paiute camp of Winnemucca and Young Wolf, Adam recognized the markings on two of the arrows protruding from the chests of the dead men. He removed the arrows that had killed the two men as well as the others ritualistically shot into them. Then he and Roy did their best to staunch the blood flow from the third man, but it was too late. The knife wound, the torn and bloodied scalp wound, and the arrows in his abdomen and thigh were too much. He died after only saying one thing. He damned the 'dirty thieving Indians' he said who had killed his friends and stolen their property. Adam and Roy stood after the man died.

"It's not true, Roy. They attacked the young men and stole their horses, furs, and food. Out here, that's a hanging offense. You can't fault the young men for coming back to get their property and their horses. You know how valuable horses are out here."

"I reckon you're mostly right about all of that, Adam, but you see, I gotta follow the law. These men were killed and it's up to a judge and a court to decide ifn this was justified or not. It ain't no clear cut case of self-defense, now is it? They come here itching for a fight and got one. Now I can't just let it go cause the ones who claimed they was wronged was the ones who lived and the ones who are accused of doing wrong got killed. It ain't entirely up to me, now is it?"

"Roy, it could be. If I hadn't gone to get you, you wouldn't even have known this had happened. You could walk away."

"Adam, now you know me a sight better'n that. You know I got to do my duty, and right now that duty is reporting this and seeing what I have to do next which I'm worried is gonna be a posse to track down them that done it or calling in the Army. You know, well as I do, which of those is gonna be worse."

"I can't help you with this, Roy."

"I know, boy, and I wouldn't expect you to. I'll ask Hoss unless you got a problem with that too."

"No, I guess Hoss would be the best bet. He would help make sure a posse didn't get out of line too."

"Posse under my authority ain't never getting out of line."

"I'm sorry, Roy, but out here when it involves the Paiute or any Indians, men get to be hard to handle sometimes."

"I know that. I'd be real careful on who I let ride with me on a job like this."

From the trees, Young Wolf watched as Adam and Roy rolled the bodies up in the dirty blankets they had and loaded them on their mules. They had no horses or furs any longer because the young Paiute men had reclaimed their property. The young men had left the haunch of antelope roasting over the fire for they would not eat anything these dirty men had touched. Young Wolf had the premonition that this event was the end of his friendship with Adam Cartwright but didn't know why he felt that way. When Roy and Adam finished their grisly task and mounted up to lead the mules with their loads toward Virginia City, Young Wolf turned to follow the young men back to his camp and his father. He would have much explaining to do as well as well as to give warning to his father that there likely was trouble coming for them for he had seen Adam remove the arrows from the men and stare at the bloody weapons as he held them. Young Wolf knew then that they had made a grave error. Adam knew the identities of at least some of those who had killed these white men, but Young Wolf had to wonder if he would inform the authorities. So far, he apparently had not for he had only tied a leather strap around the bundle of arrows he had collected without showing them to the sheriff and talking. Young Wolf could not know exactly what was in Adam's mind but had a very good idea of the turmoil this whole situation had caused for his friend. He could see it in the head that had dropped low and the stiff way Adam walked and then rode. His normal grace in movement was gone as he wrestled with this quandary in his mind.

There was a great commotion in town when Adam and Roy led the three corpse laden mules into town. Usually there was no great sorrow knowing that three criminals had been killed, but because these men had been killed by Indians, there were many who were outraged. Roy stood on the walk in front of the undertaker's office and tried to explain.

"We found these three up on the high pasture of the Ponderosa. Now these three jaspers done robbed some Indians of their horses, furs, and food. I reckon you all know how we feel out here taking a man's property and leaving him afoot. Now just because these were Indians who was wronged shouldn't change that none. Those young bucks come back to get what was rightfully theirs, and apparently there was quite a fight. Now until I get more information, you all gotta just let me do my job."

"Who'd ya get that story from, Roy? That Injun loving Cartwright tell you that whopper?"

"Yeah, he spends as much time with them heathen savages as he does here with decent folk. It ain't proper that he's allowed to do that."

"Now you all settle down. Adam ain't done nothing wrong. He come got me as soon as he knew there likely was gonna be trouble. Now ain't none of us know what exactly happened up there. Like I said, ya need to let me do my job. I'll investigate this and then talk to the judge about what charges if any he thinks we oughta make. 'Til then, all of you just stay calm and don't do nothing stupid."

"You call it stupid for us to want to go after those murdering savages?"

"Yeah, Roy, you know they been raiding the homesteads and small ranches for months now."

Adam had remained silent until then. "They have only raided the homesteads and ranches that encroach on their lands or belong to those who kill their horses and kill the game they need to live. Any of you would do the same if your lives and property were being threatened by them."

"Mighta known you'd take their side. Sheriff, how do we know it wasn't Adam himself who killed those men?"

"Yeah, he might a done it just to help out his thieving friends."

"What was he doing up in that high pasture anyway. We all know it's roundup time and all the cattle are down in the lower pastures right now. It's the same on all the ranches."

Anything Adam said at that point was only going to inflame the crowd more. He told Roy he was leaving, but as he moved to mount up on Sport, several hands grasped him and pulled him into the crowd. Roy fired his pistol then to get their attention.

"Now let him go, and anybody who does anything to him is gonna find himself in my jail. Is that clear?"

Reluctantly the men released Adam but not without protest. "Figures you'd take his side too. You might be protecting a murderer, Sheriff. We'll remember that in the next election." There were murmurs of support for that statement.

"I'll do my job and follow the law. If you have a problem with a law-abiding sheriff, then I guess maybe you'll get what you deserve in the next election. Now go on home and let me do the job I was elected to do."

Grumbling and angry, most of the crowd moved off. Adam waited for just a minute before shaking his head as he looked at Roy before wheeling Sport about and riding toward home. Adam had a lot of time to think as he rode home and decided he would advise Hoss not to help the posse if they asked. He could only hope that failure to track down the Paiute young men who had killed the three white men might cool tempers and let Roy better able to investigate to find the truth. Adam was confident that time and the truth could settle the whole matter, but worried that something might happen before the truth could be determined.

In town, Roy tried to talk to the men who still had questions especially about their perception that he was protecting Adam.

"Now you see, boys, I wasn't protecting Adam near as much as I was protecting you. You boys were poking an angry rattler and using a short stick. I already had three bodies to bury at town expense. I didn't need any more."

"He didn't look so dangerous."

Next time you see him staring at you like that even ifn he's a leaning up against that post like he was, you need to be a mite worried. He had that one thumb hooked in his belt over by his pistol. He wasn't gonna take any more from you. He was eyeing you up like a cougar sitting on a boulder ready to pounce on an easy meal. He's a dangerous man, and you best never forget that."

There was more muttering before the men asked if Roy was putting together a posse.

"I am soon as I get these three taken care of. Now you go on a posse with me, you follow my orders and do what I say. Is that clear? I ain't gonna take no trouble with anybody in my posse or they'll find themselves sitting in my jail too."

Their tempers had cooled in the men there, and all of them nodded in agreement.

"Then go get your horses and tell whoever you need to tell that you might be gone two or three days. Might take us that long to find the ones who done it and convince 'em to come back with us. I guess it could be that we might be gone four or five days even. You still want to be in the posse, then that's the deal. One dollar a day until we get back."

On the Ponderosa, Adam arrived back much to the surprise of his father and then his brothers when they returned late in the afternoon from the branding corrals. By then, Adam had explained to his father about what had happened. When Hoss and Little Joe arrived home and questioned why he was there, he had to repeat the whole story once again. His anger at what had been said to him in town had not dissipated and seemed to increase with each telling.

"Why are people so ignorant? Without the help of the Paiute, none of the early settlers here would likely have survived. The Paiute didn't know how much they would lose so they were generous with their aid showing us how to hunt, trap, fish, and in general, survive here. Now instead of being treated like neighbors, they're treated like vermin that many would like to exterminate. I don't understand it. There are so few of them and they hold so little land any more. Why can't people allow them to live their lives in quiet and peace? What happened up on that mountain was not their fault. Some disreputable men thought to take advantage and assuage their greed by theft. They paid the price for doing that and then trying to protect their illegally gotten goods and horses."

Ben and Hoss were especially sympathetic because both had memories of how they had been helped many times by the Paiute. Little Joe wasn't as willing to accept their views for he remembered mostly how the Ponderosa had helped the Paiute and continued to do so. "We give them cattle every winter and every spring to help them survive. We let them hunt on our lands, and we've bought horses from them and traded supplies to them for less than our cost. We've done all that anyone could be expected to do and then some."

Adam was getting angry at his little brother too. "Maybe you should remember that at one time, all the land we have was once the land of the Paiute and the Bannock as well as some smaller tribes like the Washoe. We're living on and prospering from their lands."

"Well, everybody did it. Why should we feel bad about that? We treat them better than anybody else does."

"It's what we should do and the least we should do too. Don't forget that the Paiute traded Cochise to us even though that pinto was a very valuable animal to them. They did it because we help each other."

That comment did penetrate and Little Joe apologized for his earlier outburst. Over the years, Adam had wanted to do more to help the Paiute. Ben had thought that it would hurt their pride too much if they gave them more than they already did. Adam had accepted that, but it still hurt him to see how many children died of disease or didn't have enough food at times. Hoss was closer in opinion to Adam than to his father, but like him, thought that they couldn't treat the Paiute as charity cases. He and Adam had discussed how to help them without creating that impression but had never come up with a solution. They were still talking about what had happened when the posse arrived in the yard.

Chapter 3

"Sheriff Coffee, I got a lot of respect for you and all, but I just don't see the justice in this. Adam done explained it all to us, and it seems to me that them young bucks was just defending themselves against men who stole what was theirs. They never shoulda took that stuff in the first place, and then they fought to defend what they stole. I cain't hardly help you go after them and feel right about it."

"Hoss, now all we want to do is bring them back to answer some questions. Ifn the judge hears 'em out and agrees with you, well then they'll be free to go. Otherwise, they will have to pay the penalty the law requires. Now you see the justice in that, don't ya?"

"No, Roy, I don't."

Ben intervened at that point. "Roy, my sons have lived here as long as I have. They know these men and know they wouldn't have murdered anyone. If you take them in though, all the trouble that's been happening around here is going to be laid at their feet. You know that. Adam told us about what was said to him. No one wants to hear that any Indians have any rights, and no jury is going to find Indians not guilty. You know that as well as I do. Bringing those boys in is as good as convicting and sentencing them."

"I'm real sorry you feel that way, Ben." Tipping his hat to Ben and his sons, Roy turned to the posse and directed them out. He knew it was unlikely they would find the trail without the help of either of the two best trackers in the area. In his heart, he wasn't too disappointed with that. Sometimes doing your job made you do something that you knew wasn't the best thing to do. He agreed far more with Ben, Adam, and Hoss than he wanted anyone to know. He acted impartially and did his job as he was sworn to do, but that didn't affect what he knew to be right and just.

As Roy rode off with the posse, Ben looked at his sons. Little Joe seemed ready to forget all about it and get back to the things they had to do.

"Pa, should we warn the men that there might be some trouble?"

"No, Joseph, there likely won't be any trouble for us or at least nothing more than we're used to having."

Ben was concerned about his two older sons. Hoss looked a bit dejected for he had wanted to help Roy but in good conscience could not. But it was Adam sitting silent with his elbows on his knees and his head bent who worried Ben the most. He had thought lately quite a bit about Adam. His eldest son was prone to introspection and often judged himself harshly thinking that no matter what he had done, he could have done it better. More than the other two by far, Ben wished that Adam would find the right woman to marry. He was the kind of man who needed a woman by his side at night, someone to listen to his concerns and give him solace and comfort. Ben remembered that as a boy, Adam would sometimes come to him at night with his concerns and his worries. There was something about the solitude of the dark that allowed Adam to open his heart to another. That hadn't happened for many years except for a few talks by the fireplace late at night. Ben wondered how hard this latest incident would affect his son and worried about its impact on all of them. For the time being, he assumed that they would be able to throw themselves into work and only hoped that his youngest could manage not to say something to irritate the other two.

It was a somber mood at the breakfast and the dinner table each of the next few days, but Little Joe managed to keep his comments businesslike and did nothing to antagonize his brothers. That was a welcome relief to Ben who had worried that the troubles of the outside world might threaten the stability and peace within his family. The work thankfully was exhausting enough to allow each of them to fall into sleep each night even if they did worry about what was happening beyond the confines of their ranch. Disturbing news reached them when Hop Sing returned from a trip to town to get supplies. The posse had found a trail and followed it. Unfortunately it was the wrong trail, and Ring Nose and two other Bannocks had been arrested and were sitting in the Virginia City jail awaiting trial. They claimed not to know anything about the incident because, of course, they had no information, but to many in town, that showed that they were guilty. Ben was at the house when Hop Sing returned and rode out to the branding corrals to talk with his sons knowing that this was going to upset them even more.

"Dadburnit, now I wish I had gone with 'em. At least they wouldn't have arrested the wrong ones. Pa, you know that the Bannock would never murder either. Bruno and a bunch of them have worked for us when we rounded up horses. They done the same for a lot of ranches around here. They're doing their best to get along with the white men no matter what. Ring Nose has avoided fighting for a long time now even if he ain't the friendliest cuss I ever knew. Don't people have any memory at all?"

Speaking softly but vehemently, Adam answered his question. "They don't want to remember. What they want is the land the Bannock and the Paiute have, the trees, the water, furs, gold, and anything else they can get. Greed drives a lot of what happens here."

Little Joe was concerned about the injustice of what had happened as much as the rest of his family worried. "What are we going to do?"

Ben looked at Adam. "Are you going to turn over those arrows as evidence now? I know you can identify some of the men who killed those white men."

"Pa, I'm not sure what to do. It's wrong for Ring Nose and two of his people to be locked up for something they didn't do, but would turning over Paiute men to face injustice going to help?"

"Hoss and Little Joe, I want you to go back to work here. Adam and I are going to town to talk with Roy. Maybe we can sort out this whole mess."

Unfortunately when Ben and Adam got to town, it was clear that Roy was facing far more than a quandary of whether he had arrested the right men. Epithets were yelled at Ben and Adam who worried that it could escalate to violence. They were relieved to be able to get into Roy's office without any serious trouble.

"Well, now, Adam, I ain't sure if I'm happy to see you or not. I got myself a big mess here, and I'm thinking you could have helped me, and this would never happened."

"Roy, how can you blame me for this. You knew you were looking for Paiute men. What made you think for a moment that bringing in three Bannock was the right thing to do?"

As Roy and Adam stood glowering at each other, Ben stepped forward. "It won't do any good to be assigning blame here. We need to find a solution. Now, Roy, you know those Bannock didn't do anything. Why are they still in this jail?"

"Well, my only witness refuses to cooperate, the trail led to those three, and they ain't cooperating either. Not one of 'em will say a word as to where they was or what they was doing. Now if they won't defend themselves, how do you think I can do it?"

"Surely the fact that they won't say where they've been is not enough to hold them?" Ben tried to be reasonable, but of course, the whole situation was unreasonable.

"They had bundles of furs and there was some blood on 'em."

"But the arrows we found were Paiute arrows not Bannock or Shoshone. Roy, anyone doing any trapping is likely to have some blood on them. Blood on those furs could be completely innocent." Adam tried to be logical and rational, but again, this was not a reasonable and rational situation. Emotions were too strong in the community for logic and reason to apply.

"They coulda come by those arrows anywhere. You know as well as I do that these tribes trade with each other. Unless you're willing to tell me who those arrows belong to, then I got no choice but to assume they belong to the ones we tracked. I saw how you looked at those arrows we pulled from those men. You recognized them."

Unable to deny what Roy had seen, Adam leaned against the wall and dropped his head. He didn't know what to do. Finally he asked to see Ring Nose. Once inside, he had to speak in English only because he didn't know enough to speak in depth using Ring Nose's language so he warned them to be careful of what they said to him because he assumed Roy would be listening.

"Ring Nose, I know you are innocent. Why won't you tell the sheriff where you were and how you got those furs?"

"Perhaps it is because that would get us into a different kind of trouble."

Adam took some time to think about that. "Surely it can't be as much trouble as being charged with murder?"

"From what we hear, someone will say that we were defending ourselves. In your laws, that makes it all right, doesn't it?"

"It should." All of them could hear the noise from the crowd outside the jail. Individual comments could not be heard, but the tone of the complaints was clearly hostile.

"I think it does not matter what they think we have done. They wish to kill us."

"I'm afraid that may be true. Ring Nose, I know who killed those men. Sheriff Coffee knows that I know. I will go to the Paiute and try to get them to come here to say the truth."

"Thank you, Adam Cartwright. The Bannock have not always been your friend." Adam smiled and Ring Nose responded with a wan smile. Both knew very well that the Bannock had stolen cattle and horses from the Ponderosa. "But you show that you are our friend. I hope that your plan works. I do not want to die with a rope around my neck. I want to die as a warrior or better yet sitting in my old age against a tree and thinking of all my children and my children's children and theirs."

Ring Nose reached through the cell bars to grasp Adam's forearm to let him know that there would be friendship in their future no matter how short or long it was. Adam nodded and left as Ring Nose turned to explain to the other two what he and Adam had discussed. Outside he heard the crowd noise explode in anger as his new friend and his father left the building. Roy heard it too, grabbed a shotgun he had put on his desk, and rushed to the door and outside. Because Adam was being pummeled by several men as Ben was being restrained by others, Roy fired the shotgun to quell the violence.

"You men now let him go, and you let his father go too. He ain't done nothing to make you act that way. Have you all forgotten everything the Cartwrights have done for you and this town?"

"He's helping them thieving savages!" Wilson stepped forward as a spokesman for the group. "Just a few days ago, some of them heathens stole packs of furs from my station. We tried to fight them off, but my brother took a knife wound to the arm, and I had to help him. That's when those thieving savages slunk off into the night with my property."

"Are you claiming that those furs inside are yours?"

"Well, they darn well could be."

"Once the trial is over, we'll talk about that. Meanwhile, you be sure not to accost any private citizens going about their business. Adam ain't done nothing wrong so let him be or you'll be sitting in a jail cell right next to them Bannocks."

With a nod to Roy, Adam picked up his hat and dusted it off before putting it on his head. Then he rammed his fist into Wilson's stomach. The crowd wanted to retaliate but Roy raising his shotgun once more quelled that.

"Now Adam, I think that squares it. You get on outta town before there's any more trouble. You think about what we talked about. I ain't got many options left."

Mounting up on Sport, Adam wheeled the horse about and rode out of town with his father. Once they were well out of town, the two talked. Ben endorsed Adam's plan to go ask for help from the Paiute. Adam galloped out then headed not to home but to the Paiute camp.

Chapter 4

"Adam, if our young men go to town, they will hang them instead of the Bannock. I cannot ask them to do that."

"Chief Winnemucca, you know too that the young men should not have gone in there to fight knowing they would likely kill those men. Mutilating them afterwards only made it worse. It made it look like something it wasn't."

"Yes, Young Wolf got them to stop from doing more, but too late to stop what was already done."

"Young Wolf, you were there? You told me to get the sheriff so he could handle it, but then you led the young men?"

"I could not have stopped them, and there was no other way to get our furs and horses back. Your sheriff would not have taken our side against white men. Did he not lead the white men who are so stupid that they cannot tell one set of tracks from another? He and those other men cannot tell Bannock men from Paiute men?"

"Young Wolf, some white men are that stupid, but there's more to the story. Ring Nose and his men had furs with them. The furs had blood on them, and Ring Nose will not tell the sheriff where they got them because they stole them from Wilson Station and wounded one of the Wilson brothers who tried to stop them."

"It is only right. Those Wilsons cheat those who trade with them. Our people go there to trade for food and things that we need, and they will only trade for pretty cloth and beads. What need have we for pretty cloth and beads when our children go hungry?"

"Young Wolf, I did not know that. Why didn't you tell me?"

"We fight our own battles, Adam Cartwright. When you and I went to hunt, many were pleased for they thought that we could bring back much meat for our fires. Instead, all we brought back was more trouble."

"What if I can get them to pledge that there will be no death sentence?"

"How would you do that?" Chief Winnemucca was interested as was Young Wolf.

"I would have to get a lawyer to file an appeal that the case should be heard by the Army." There was a sharp intake of breath by Young Wolf, but before he could say anything, Chief Winnemucca motioned to Adam to continue. "I know that the Army is not trusted by you and your people, but this is not during a war. It is peaceful and they have their interest in keeping it that way. There may be a punishment, but for a much lesser offense than murder."

"You can promise this?"

Adam's face fell and he sighed deeply at Chief Winnemucca's question because he knew he could not. Many of the Paiute had been listening silently as the three men had talked. One of the young men stepped forward.

"I led the young men who created this trouble. I know that we did no wrong, but I cannot let Ring Nose and the others take my place if the white man wants to punish us for what we did. I was very angry then, but now I regret what we did to the bodies, and I will tell them that I am sorry for that. I will be punished for that only if there is justice."

"I cannot ask you to do this, Honi Hastiin. You and Mahkah did what you thought was right." Chief Winnemucca named the two that Adam had known were involved. He saw Niyol about to step up and there were probably others who would follow Honi Hastiin. He raised his hand to stop them from saying anything.

Adam confirmed what Young Wolf had suspected. "I recognized the arrows from Honi Hastiin and Mahkah. I can ask the Army to take jurisdiction over them if they will come with me to Virginia City."

"Can you not ask first?" Chief Winnemucca was loath to let his young men go with Adam without a better plan for he did not trust white man's justice.

"Sadly, no. They must first be arrested for me to ask a lawyer to file the paper called a writ. Without it, too much time would pass before I could convince the Army to step into a civilian matter. By then, Ring Nose and the others would likely be hanged."

"Why would they hang them and why would they not hang our young men? Your laws twist like piece of grass tossed into a fire." Young Wolf was angry and upset with what Adam had said so far.

"Ring Nose cannot defend himself against the charges without admitting that he committed another crime. He is caught, as we would say, between a rock and a hard place."

"Yes, it is like standing in a river trying to catch the water and make the river run backwards." Chief Winnemucca was wise and understood the difficulties presented by this situation, but he too was pessimistic about the possible results.

"There is no way out for him unless I can bring the young men to the sheriff. They will be Ring Nose's defense, and he and the other Bannock will be released. If not, then Ring Nose and the others will likely be hanged."

"My young men take a great risk. What will you do if you fail? What will we do?" Chief Winnemucca wanted to trust Adam, but at that moment, he found it nearly impossible to do so.

Adam hung his head for a moment. "There is only darkness and despair if I fail. I must succeed in this quest."

As Adam mounted up on Sport preparing to lead the two young men to town, Young Wolf came up beside him.

"If you fail, you will have more than darkness and despair. You will have me for an enemy." Young Wolf's fierce expression and stiff posture let Adam know how serious he was about what he had said.

"We've been friends a long time, Young Wolf. You would turn your back on men and all of that if I fail at this one thing?"

"You have been a good friend but you are a white man who now takes my brothers to face an uncertain fate. How would you feel if I was leading your two brothers away to face justice at the hands of the Paiute for what the whites have done to us?"

"They're not facing justice for everything the Paiute have done to the white men. They're facing justice only for one incident."

"That is where you are most wrong, my friend. Perhaps you are wise in the ways of the white world, but you do not see how black it can be in the hearts of some of your people when they look at the Paiute. I fear what happens next."

"I know how black the hearts of some whites are when they look at the Paiute. I know their greed and their ignorance, but those are not the people who will be responsible for what happens with the law."

"That is another mistake you make. The ones with the black hearts have power over others. You will see that too. Our young men will have to face that as well."

"I'll get my family to help. We will do everything we can to see that justice is done and fairly. You won't come with the two young men?" Adam had hoped that Young Wolf would come to explain what happened. At that point, he wasn't aware that Young Wolf had participated as much as the others in the killing of the three white men.

"I know you will try to get justice, but remember my warnings. I do not trust your white laws and your white justice." Young Wolf turned and walked back to his father's side then without another word or look. He respected what the two young men had agreed to do, but he would not do it for he thought it a fool's quest. It would prevent a war hopefully so he had to accept it, but he didn't like it at all. He turned and watched with sadness as his friend and his brothers rode off.

When Adam and the two young Paiute reached the Ponderosa ranch house, Ben heard them ride in and came outside to see what Adam had managed to do. Finding that two of the Paiute were with him and willing to explain to the sheriff and to a court if necessary, Ben agreed to ride to town with Adam again even though it was getting late. Hoss and Little Joe insisted they needed to ride along as well. After the Cartwrights packed for an overnight stay, the six rode to town and came upon a scene of near mayhem. Roy had fired his shotgun at least twice or they assumed so for they had heard the blasts of a shotgun as they rode in, but several men had forcibly restrained Roy as the mob had Ring Nose and the other two Bannocks. They were attempting to get them up on horses so they could get the nooses that were hanging in a tree around the men's necks. Ben's voice thundered nearly as loud as that shotgun had, but it had more impact.

Honi Hastiin leaned over to Adam who sat between him and Mahkah. "Your chiefs do not have the respect of your people. We would never challenge our chiefs like this. Do they not care for the tribe here? We are taught to do what is best for the tribe and for the others."

"Many of us are taught that too, but some don't learn very well."

Hoss fired in the air three times to get the attention of those who hadn't heard his father bellow at them to stop. Freezing but not relinquishing their hold on the three Bannock, the mob was silent as Ben told them to be ashamed of themselves and to let Roy go. Wilson stepped forward then.

"It's your son's fault. We know he's here to try to get these thieving savages off for what they did. We knew he was cooking up some crazy story. Now I just can't wait to hear what it is."

"What my son has done has been to find the truth. These two Paiute were among those to attack those white men who stole their property and their horses. They went to get them back, and there was a fight. There's not a man among you who can argue that you would have done it any differently. You know how some of those gold seekers are. Their greed blinds them to every law so they do what they please."

"It ain't right that Indians done what they done to them though."

"No, and they are sorry about that. They're here to face a court of law about that. Now they're willing to admit they were wrong. What about you? Certainly you can see how wrong it is to lynch any men especially innocent men."

Wilson was incensed. "They stole my furs. They deserve something for that."

Adam had had enough of him. "You deserved to lose some furs if you did. You cheat every person who comes to your trading post, and you cheat the Paiute and Bannock worse than you cheat your white customers. We only have your word that the furs the Bannock had were yours. What proof do you have?"

"I don't need proof. We all know they'll steal anything they can get their hands on. Those furs are mine."

By that time, Roy had retrieved his shotgun and his authority over the crowd. He ordered them to release the Bannocks. Then he addressed Wilson. "Ifn you got some proof those furs are yours, I'll need to see it. Otherwise if what Ben Cartwright is held up by what them two Paiute say, then I'll have to let them Bannocks go on their way with my apologies and with those furs unless you can prove they're yours."

"Sheriff, they're mine, but you know there's no way on earth for me to prove that. You have to take my word for it." Wilson was doing his best to sound reasonable.

"Roy, you know we can't take Wilson's word for anything. He'd lie to his own mother." Adam reminded everyone there about times they had caught Wilson lying about something. "We all know he sells alcohol to the Indians even though it is against the law. How many of you have experienced raids simply because Wilson wanted to make more money and sold liquor to young Indians? How many men have been shot over a crooked card game at Wilson Station? If not for him, this whole area would be a lot more peaceful." Adam could see that he was having an impact on the crowd. "Did he buy the rounds tonight to get you all fired up to follow his idea about lynching Ring Nose and the other two Bannocks? Don't you see that was how he planned to get those furs and probably their horses too?"

Roy picked up on the grumbling that seemed to be in agreement with everything Adam had said. He took advantage of the waning support in the crowd for what Wilson had encouraged them to do. "Now, you all go home, and I can forget about all the things I could toss you in that jail for. You go home and think about what ya almost done. I don't tolerate that kind of thing, and next time, I'll have to aim that shotgun a might lower." Roy was looking directly at Wilson by that time who was fuming.

"Cartwright, your day will come. I'm gonna find you alone some time, and then we're going to have an accounting for what you did here tonight."

"I only told the truth. I know it's something with which you are unfamiliar. Don't be too confident that if we face each other that you won't be the one to meet the devil and pay for all you've done."

Wilson turned in disgust and stomped off into the darkness. Honi Hastiin turned to Adam once more. "You need to be very careful. I do not think that one will come to you when you can see him. He will stalk you and catch you when you cannot defend yourself."

"I'll be careful. Now let's go tell the Sheriff the story and see what he says."

Chapter 5

"Adam, they still got to face a judge. Now once that's done, you can get your lawyer to file any writ you want. For now, they're staying right here in my jail. Mutilating a corpse is a serious offense, and I don't rightly like people taking the law into their own hands." After getting the Bannock horses and the furs they had with them when arrested, Roy had sent them out of town under an escort led by Clem to make sure they were able to safely leave. Then he had locked the two young Paiute in cells making sure they had blankets and food.

"Roy, they shot arrows into them and stabbed them. That's hardly enough for a charge of mutilating a corpse. Besides, we don't know that they were dead when it happened."

"Looked to me that they was meaning to scalp 'em too."

"But they didn't. Everything they did was in the heat of battle."

"Well, then I guess they got a good argument for their lawyer to use."

"Roy, they came in voluntarily. After what happened tonight, they would be a lot safer on the Ponderosa."

"That may be, but I don't think so. I think what happened here tonight was set off by that Wilson, and you done took care of him. He ain't gonna be able to stir up nothing for a while now. Course you made yourself an enemy tonight. You watch your back with that Wilson. He is one mean son of a gun. I wouldn't put nothing past him. I reckon he'd be willing to do anything he wouldn't get caught for doing."

"I'm worried for my friends who are locked up back there." Adam gestured forcefully toward the cells in back. "I'm not worried about him."

Ben and Hoss were worried though. Adam was stirring up a hornet's nest of trouble for his future, but neither of them thought they would have done anything differently than he had if they had been in the same situation. All they could do was to help him and then watch his back for him as much as they could.

"Adam, we've done all we can here tonight. Let's get some rest and tomorrow, we'll talk to our attorney and start the process for getting the Army to assume jurisdiction." Turning to Roy, Ben had to ask. "You're not upset with us for trying to get the Army to take this over, are you?"

"Not at all, Ben. I'd woulda asked 'em myself if I thought it would do any good. This kind of thing stirs up the town and makes my job a heck of a lot harder. I'm sworn to uphold the law, but sometimes, it makes my skin crawl with what I gotta do. I found it real hard both times to lock up men who never know what it's like to live indoors. It ain't their way, and I know it. It would be better for the Army to deal with troubles with the Paiute."

That made Adam angry again. "It wasn't trouble with the Paiute. It was trouble started by greedy white men who thought they could take anything an Indian has like it's some right they have. Almost all the trouble around here with raids and everything else is the fault of greedy white men who try to take what isn't theirs to have."

"Adam, I do know how you're feeling, but you can't change the world all by yourself."

"Roy, I can at least try to change the part of it in which I live."

"Then come back here tomorrow morning and help me take statements from those two. Then we'll have to go talk with the judge and see what charges if any he wants filed. Then you can go see your lawyer about shifting it all over to the Army."

Wanting to end this conversation before hurtful words were said, Ben suggested they all get a good night's sleep and talk about it in the morning. Even though Adam doubted he would get any sleep at all, he was done arguing for the day. He turned silently to follow his brothers out the door. Ben looked at Roy who shrugged. There was nothing else that could be done at that point. Roy wouldn't likely get much sleep either as he had to stay at the jail to make sure the two Paiute men were safe. After what had happened earlier, he didn't want to trust his jail to any deputy. He settled into his chair and leaned his head on his forearms to try to get some rest at least.

In the morning, Adam and Ben went to Roy's office to assist in getting statements from the young men. The night had passed peacefully so Hoss and Little Joe were planning to ride home to take care of ranch business. It was a busy time of year, but they did not regret the time they had taken to help. Both felt it was a shame that Honi Hastiin and Mahkah were in jail but saw no other way for this to play out. The four of them briefly discussed what needed to be done, and then Ben and Adam waved as Hoss and Little Joe rode out. The town was quieter than usual for the morning.

"I guess some people are a bit ashamed to show themselves in the light after what they tried to do in darkness last night."

"Pa, it wasn't just the lack of sunlight that made it dark. As the Paiute know all too well, there is a darkness in the hearts of a lot of men when it comes to anything to do with the Indians. I wish I knew why. It can't just be what's happened between the whites and the Paiute. Until recently, we all got along. Without their help, many of us would never have made it through those first winters. It has to be something deeper."

"I'm afraid it is. I hate to say it, but I think that many whites have the mistaken impression that because we have the Bible and Christianity, we are better than anyone who doesn't. Some even use that to justify taking what isn't theirs as long as they take it from people who are not Christian."

"O'Sullivan's manifest destiny theory then. It does seem that a lot of people bought into that. It's so self-serving. It says that we have a right to take these lands and stretch the nation from coast to coast taking from those who aren't white and aren't Christian. It is morally reprehensible. It mentions God in what is pure blasphemy, but all sorts of people continue to espouse it like truth to justify their sins and make them seem noble and right."

"We can't change that, but we can see what we can do to get justice for Honi Hastiin and Mahkah. Now you go over to help Roy get started, and I'll get our lawyer and join you as soon as I can. And Adam, try to understand that Roy is in a difficult position."

"I do understand that, but my position seems to be a bit worse."

Ben squeezed his son's shoulder. He had seen Adam sitting at the window of their hotel room the night before and staring outside. He had said he didn't want to talk, but when Ben mentioned Young Wolf, all of his fears about this situation and losing Young Wolf as a friend came out in a rush. They had talked briefly about it, but because neither had a solution other than this situation working out well, they had both returned to their beds and tried to sleep. Ben doubted that Adam had slept much at all, and the dark crescents under his eyes bore testament to that. Ben prayed fervently that this would work out well but feared it would not. Getting the statements proved not to be difficult as Adam helped the two Paiute men with the words they did not understand and wrote the statements for them under the Roy's watchful attention. Then they had gone to the judge, and hopes of a reasonable settlement disappeared. It was clear they needed the Army to settle the issue for the judge was not in an agreeable mood.

"These statements are patently self-serving. I am to believe that two men with bows and arrows defeated three men who had rifles and pistols. It seems to me that there was an ambush to explain this massacre or there ought to be a lot more men standing here to face justice. Now which is it?"

The family lawyer had to turn and command Adam not to respond to that inflammatory statement. "Adam, anything you say will only make things worse. You hired me to do a job, now let me do it." Breathing audibly, Adam's glower never left the judge who stared at him as if challenging him to say anything. Ben put a hand on Adam's arm to tell him to calm himself. After a moment, the lawyer stood to address the court.

"Your Honor, everything in those statements is the truth. The young men here have admitted what they did and have explained in detail how and why they did it. They are not responsible for the actions of others who may not be here."

"That may be so or not, but I am going to order a trial and let a jury decide. I cannot simply take these statements and let these men walk away from murder charges. I want them in this courtroom in three days to face charges of murder, theft, and horse stealing. I'll be adding more as I look over what I have here."

"Your Honor, we intend to contact the Army and ask them to take jurisdiction. Would you delay the start of the trial until we receive an answer from them, and do I have to file an official writ for that request?"

"Fine. Now extra paperwork is needed. I think that would work well too. I'll give you one week, and then I'll send my recommendations for charges to them if they accept your request. Now if that is all, I have some other business that needs to come before this court today."

Two weeks later, Adam stood on the platform at the railroad station in Carson City. The Army had accepted jurisdiction and had charged the young men with the minor charges that their lawyer and the Cartwrights had suggested and they had ignored the recommendations of the Nevada circuit court judge. However their relief was short-lived. Even though the two young Paiute were charged with minor offenses, they were sentenced to ten years and were to be sent to a prison facility in Florida where other Indians convicted of crimes were sent. Adam and his family knew that the likelihood of them surviving in such a hostile environment so far from home was very low. They had argued with the Army officers who had handed down the sentence but made no progress in getting it set aside. They appealed to officials in the government and in the upper echelons of the military and got no help. It seemed the government had chosen to make an example of the two young men and prove to the white community that they were keeping the peace. Honi Hastiin and Mahkah stood as proud as young men could be with chains and shackles on them.

"You did your best, Adam Cartwright. It is as I expected you to do, but sometimes the task is impossible. As Chief Winnemucca said, you cannot catch the water in your hands and make the river run backwards. White men are the river, and we Paiute are the few hands with the impossible task of holding them back from our lands."

"I'll do whatever I can to try to get this ruling reversed."

"Thank you, and we will pray that your efforts are successful. But remember one thing: we did prevent a war that would have meant more of my people dying."

"For now, we have, but I fear that it is a delay only."

"And I fear that you are right. Goodbye, Adam. Talk to Young Wolf and to Chief Winnemucca. Try to make them understand that Mahkah and I knew what could happen when we went to town with you. It was our decision, and they should not blame you."

"Thank you, Honi Hastiin. I think that you will make a great chief someday. I hope to see you soon."

Nodding, Honi Hastiin turned to Mahkah and the two young men were escorted into the rail car that would take them to their incarceration in Florida. In chains and facing an uncertain future, the two held their heads high as they moved at the soldiers' directions. The last Adam saw of them, they were seated with soldiers sitting behind and in front of them as if they were any danger to anyone. Ben had been waiting for Adam to say goodbye and walked up to put his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Those are two very brave young men. I hope we can still help them."

"I hope so too, but it seems unlikely. Only the War Department or the President can intercede now, and we both know how unlikely that is. I need to ride to the Paiute camp now and tell them what has happened. This is going to be very difficult."

"I'll go with you, son."

"You don't have to go. I can do this by myself."

"I know. I want to go with you."

Ben walked with Adam back to where they had left their horses. Hoss and Little Joe were waiting for them. Adam looked at them wondering why they were there, but Ben smiled for he thought he knew.

"Adam, me and Joe want to ride with you up to the Paiute camp. We know it ain't gonna be easy telling 'em what ya got to tell 'em, and we thought maybe us being there could be a help."

Adam smiled at his brothers before mounting up. "Yes, if they decide they want to scalp someone, it'll be good having Little Joe there. His hair would look the best hanging decorating the door of a wickup." Adam tousled his youngest brothers long curls.

"Well, older brother, they better get yours soon as it seems to be getting a might thin up there."

The gallows humor made Ben cringe, but Little Joe had done a blustery show of being affronted before responding as Hoss laughed at both of his brothers. It gave them a moment's respite from the more serious matters facing them.

Adam was grateful for his brothers' action. "Thank you for coming along. I hope the four of us can manage to keep a lid on things so there aren't more raids and then more retaliation."

Chapter 6

Any hope of resolving things peacefully and quietly were dashed as soon as the Cartwrights rode into Chief Winnemucca's camp. Obviously they had heard what had happened in Carson City with the military tribunal the day before. There were dark and suspicious looks as well as murmured insults.

"It is not over." That statement was repeated a number of times as Adam and Ben talked with Chief Winnemucca. The other chiefs and many of the men stood around them as they talked. The atmosphere was charged with emotion making Adam and Ben even more careful of what they said and how they said it. "We have asked for a commutation of the sentence. That means it would be shortened so that the young men come home sooner."

"Adam Cartwright, I ask you this one thing. If the men charged with these things had been white, would they have gone to jail at all?"

Adam could only shake his head that they wouldn't have. He knew how grossly unfair the sentence had been. It was the type of thing for which most white men would have paid a fine. The criminal actions here had mostly been what amounted to disturbing the peace and inciting a fight. Ten years as a punishment was so disproportionate that even the officers who acted as the defense lawyers had assured them they should be able to get the sentence reduced considerably. That had not happened. All they could do was to say that they would not give up, and the Cartwrights repeated that to the Paiute.

"Adam Cartwright, I know that you tried, but I must tell you and your father and brothers that it will be much more difficult to stop the young men now. They carry great anger in their hearts, and young men will act when they feel that burning. They have not yet learned that their efforts only bring more harm as whites continue to come into our lands. We did not know all those years ago that welcoming the whites as neighbors would mean that we would have to die. We traded; we hunted together; we shared the land. Now even the small parts of our lands that we still hold are desired by the whites. Is there no end to the greed? Must they take all that we have and let us die? Now they take our young men away and punish them for defending their property, their lands, and themselves."

"I know how unfair it is. We will do whatever we can to get Honi Hastiin and Mahkah back home. I had no idea the Army would do what it did." Adam knew that his apology was inadequate in this situation, but it was all that he had.

Young Wolf stepped forward then. "You should have known. It has happened to many others who thought to trust the white man. I trusted you once, and now look what you have done. We can no longer be friends for friends would not do as you have done." Young Wolf and the other men walked away at that point.

Adam and his family were not invited to stay for a meal. It was as clear a message as could be sent. They were not welcome in the Paiute camp at that time. They didn't know if they ever would be welcome again. It was round-up time, and often some cows who would have a difficult time surviving a trail drive were instead driven up to the Paiute camp. Ben decided that they would do the same thing that year, but he couldn't be sure they would be accepted. Adam was sure.

"Pa, they're mad at us now, and especially at me, but they would never deny food to the children and the women because of that. I think it best though if I'm the one to bring the cows up here. I need to do something to show that I am still their friend even if I failed to help them as I thought that I could."

About a week later, Adam drove seven cows up near the Paiute camp. He got them close enough that they would be heard and into an area with good grazing so that they wouldn't stray for quite a while. All the while he was doing that, the hair on the back of his neck was standing up. He felt eyes on him but saw no one. There were no sounds of birds and he saw no small animals in the last few miles of his trip. He knew he was being watched and his back itched as he rode back toward home. He only relaxed when he reached open pastureland and no pursuit and no arrow or bullet sought him out. He had not known that he would feel that worried when he was that close to the Paiute camp, but the way he was watched made him understand the full enmity that was directed his way. He knew then that his father had been correct. The Paiute would not forgive him at all until those two young men were back home.

Though Adam tried everything that he could think to do, that was not resolved for over six months and then not at all the way the Paiute or the Cartwrights expected. Adam had taken a number of trips to meet with various officials and was told finally that only a personal visit to the War Department with all of the evidence they had would likely get them a commutation. Adam was preparing for that trip when there was a delivery at the Ponderosa. Hoss was the first to find it.

"Pa, Adam, have you seen what's in the middle of the yard?"

"No, son, what's in the middle of the yard?"

"Well, I guess you ought to come see it for yourselves."

In the middle of the yard was a broken lance. The spearhead had been driven into the ground, but the top half was broken away and lay on the ground. There was a strong smell of urine around both pieces. Adam stood silently staring at it as his family looked at the display and at Adam.

"Son, you know the Paiute ways far better than any of the rest of us. What does this mean?"

"It tells me that I am marked for death by Young Wolf. It is one of his spears. Something else must have happened."

The next day, Adam and Ben went to town. Hoss and Little Joe insisted that they needed to ride with them. They were as worried as Ben was that Adam was going to be ambushed. In town, they rode to see Roy and as soon as he saw them, he began walking toward them.

"Now I was gonna come on out to see you. I have some news for ya, and it ain't at all good. I didn't expect to see you in town so soon. You have business to take care of?"

Ben had his own questions. "What happened, Roy? Yesterday, we had a broken lance in the yard as a warning from the Paiute. What has gotten them so upset?"

"Them two Paiutes who got sent to Florida died there. There was some kind of epidemic, a fever of some sort, and quite a few of the Indian prisoners got sick and died. The Army is shipping the bodies back here. They sent a telegram asking if there was anyone who would pay the expense, and I sent a wire back saying it would be covered. I was hoping you was willing to pay that bill."

"Of course we will, Roy. Can I assume the Paiute have been told?"

"Far as I know, the Army sent a patrol up there to tell 'em."

Adam sat quietly during the whole conversation. Hoss watched him carefully as he saw his older brother adopt that stone-faced look he had when the emotions inside were too painful to let out. He knew Adam was hurting, but he had no idea what to do. He listened to his father and Roy talk, but mostly he watched Adam.

"You gonna be all right?"

Startled, Adam turned to the brother who was his best friend. "I will be. I guess there's no point in taking that trip to Washington. I'll go see if I can get a refund on the tickets I bought."

"I'll go with you." Hoss accompanied Adam to the train station where he got a refund. For the next several months, Hoss accompanied Adam almost everywhere he went. He suspected that the Paiute were waiting for their chance at his brother, and he was determined to make that as difficult as possible. Adam talked some about leaving the Ponderosa. Hoss was disturbed by that kind of talk and never wanted Adam to leave except sometimes when he admitted to himself that his brother would be safer if he left. The Paiute especially Young Wolf were not likely to forget whom they blamed for what happened to Honi Hastiin and Mahkah. Nothing happened though and after months of vigilance, the whole family began to relax about the situation. It was exactly that for which Young Wolf had waited. He watched Adam ride out alone one morning and followed him to the work site. He tied his horse to some brush and carefully stalked his former friend whom he now considered an enemy. Adam's look of surprise was so great that Young Wolf nearly smiled, but he had deadly business with Adam and that took precedence.

Young Wolf circled Adam before charging in to fight him. It wasn't a fair fight even though it was one man pitted against another. Adam couldn't win with the handicap he had. He only defended himself and tried not to hurt his friend. Young Wolf had no such reservations. He landed damaging blows one after another until Adam fell. Young Wolf jumped on him then pummeling him into unconsciousness. When Adam awakened, he was groggy and had a severe headache. He also found himself naked, spread-eagled, and staked to the ground with the hot sun beating down on him. It was only about noon, but he knew his skin was already being burned by the sun especially that skin which seldom was ever exposed to the sun's burning rays. A short distance away, Young Wolf stood in the dappled shade of a rare tree in these dry lands. There was a small spring there, but for Adam, it could have been a thousand miles away. He had trouble seeing with the glare of the sun as well as the swelling around his eyes from the beating he had taken. Young Wolf walked to his side and spoke when he realized that Adam had regained consciousness.

"I will not kill you. I have no just cause to kill you, and I will not kill like white men kill without thought or heart. By our laws, I cannot do it. I hoped that you would fight me so that I could kill you. You refused to grant me that opportunity. But there is no law that says I cannot let nature do it. There is water near here. By tonight, it will draw in other animals. If you are fortunate, you will be unconscious when they tear your body apart. It no longer matters to me. You are my enemy now. Any friendship we ever had is gone. It was a mistake for me to trust you and to call you my friend." Young Wolf turned to leave then.

"My father and your father are friends. Your father and I are friends. What will they say about what you have done?" Adam found talking difficult and knew that he slurred some words because his tongue and upper lip were cut and swollen.

Young Wolf stopped and looked back. "They will never know. You are nothing to me now, and soon you will be nothing to this world. Your bones will be cracked open by scavengers and scattered. No one will ever know you were here."

"What if I survive? What will you do then?"

"You always were one to have too much hope. But I will answer your question. If you live, you will live as my enemy. If I ever face you in a dispute again, I will kill you and take great satisfaction in doing so. Perhaps it would be best if you found a way to survive. I would much rather have my knife taste your blood then to let the beasts do it. Either way, you will die."

Young Wolf turned then and walked away without another word nor even a backwards glance. He mounted up on his horse and led Adam's horse away with him. Adam hoped that at least he would be kind to Sport and release him somewhere on the Ponderosa for Young Wolf had brought Adam far from the Ponderosa in the few hours between the fight and Adam awakening. Even as he thought that, he knew it wouldn't happen. Young Wolf knew how well Hoss could track for he had taught him. He would not give Hoss such an easy way to find him. No, Sport would likely be taken further away before being released.

Abandoned to die, Adam closed his eyes to protect them even as he knew his eyelids were going to be severely burned unless he could loosen one of the stakes to which his hands were bound. He pulled on one and then the other. He thought he felt a tiny amount of give in the one on his right. He began to pull against it and tried to get it looser. There had been no rain for many months and the arid conditions helped him for the sandy soil would not hold as well in these dry conditions. Hours later, with his wrists bleeding and cramping, he finally felt the stake on his right move each time he pulled. With more effort and time, he knew he could work it free, but it needed to be soon. His energy was disappearing even as sunstroke symptoms began to affect him. It was probably about four when he managed to pull that stake from the ground. He began to cry with the relief that he could now free himself, but it was nearly an hour before he managed to get the other hand free of the stake. He sat up and nearly passed out. Pausing to let his body adjust, he slowly sat up and reached down to untie first one ankle and then the other. Free of his bindings, he turned to crawl on his hands and knees to the water. The pain of crawling in the hot sand on his burned knees was excruciating, but he knew he needed that water to live. Slurping up water, he drank too much and retched. Then he drank more before he collapsed. Awakening several hours later as the sun sank below the horizon, he got an idea of the direction he needed to go and located a small branch that could be used as a walking stick. After drinking as much as he could without getting sick, he forced himself to stand despite the pain, the pounding headache, and the dizziness. Slowly getting his bearings, he began to walk in the direction of home. He knew he had miles of desolation and deserted lands ahead of him, but his only hope was to go that way. By his best guess as to where he was, he thought that he had about fifteen miles to walk before he got back to the Ponderosa. Deliberately, he put one foot in front of the other and began to walk.

Chapter 7

"Pa, Adam ain't in that meadow where I was supposed to meet him after I finished with the small section I had to repair in the next pasture. It looked like he got there and set out the tools, but then nothing was done. No holes were dug and no fence posts were moved to where we're putting in that new fence. The really bad news is that there was another horse there and it wasn't shod. Pa, I think one of them Paiute got Adam. I saw some moccasin prints too, and it looked like there was fight." Hoss left it unsaid, but both were thinking Young Wolf.

"Did it look like either had been hurt?"

Ben didn't say it, but Hoss knew he was asking if there was any blood. "No, Pa, there was no blood, and both horses had a rider when they left, but I can't say what condition either one was in. They headed to the lowlands where nobody lives cause there ain't hardly no water and not much rain either. Whoever did it tried to set some backtrails and brushed out tracks, but I still found enough to track 'em. Once I got far enough that I could see for miles, I didn't see nobody so I came back here to get some help."

Ben began to organize the effort to find Adam, and within a half hour, they were ready to go. Hop Sing had packed a sack of food and another with various salves, teas, and bandages. They had no idea what they would be facing so they wanted to be ready. Ben grabbed an extra bedroll on the way out. They only had a few more good hours to search before they would have to make camp. Riding as fast as they could, the group got to where Hoss was already following the tracks. He had given them directions and left as soon as his father agreed that a full-scale rescue operation was needed. The group could ride up to Hoss without danger of damaging the trail he was following, but then had to follow him at whatever speed he could go following tracks that did get easier to find as whoever made them stopped his efforts at concealing them. As they went further out into the wastelands, apparently he had thought he had eluded anyone following. Before the sun had set, they arrived at the spot where Adam had been left to die.

"Pa, somebody's been staked out here. He pulled the stakes loose but it cost him. Some of these rawhides are mighty bloody." Hoss examined the four stakes and the rawhide strips that had bound Adam to them. Soon they were positive that it was Adam who had been victimized. Joe was poking at the ashes of a fire.

"Pa, it's Adam's belt buckle and some things that look like they could have been buttons. It looks like someone burned up Adam's clothes. His boots too because there are chunks of charred leather here that must have been his boot heels."

"He's alive then, but where did he go?"

A careful circuit of the camp found his footprints a short time later.

"Pa, Adam's barefoot and using a stick to walk. He must be hurt, but he's thinking straight enough. He's headed on a direct line to the Ponderosa."

"Let's go then."

"Pa, I can hardly see his tracks now. If we ride this way and he turns off, we'd miss it and then we wouldn't know where he was. We can ride slowly out as far as I can see the tracks. If those clouds up there in those hills head here, I won't even have any moonlight to help. Tomorrow morning, at first light, I'll start moving again as soon as I can see his tracks."

"Hoss, that isn't good enough. There are animals out here that follow a blood trail, and I saw the blood on those raw hide strips. You know that he's defenseless out there. He left the water here for a good reason. He knows that the animals will come here to get the water. They'll pick up his scent."

"All right, but all of you ride a ways off from me to one side or the other. I'll do my best to see the tracks. Let's do what we can to make some torches to use. Until the moon gets up higher, I'm gonna need 'em but if those clouds roll in, they might not be enough."

Adam had several hours head start, but he was on foot and injured. They caught up to him by midnight even if at first they didn't see him. They came upon a small stream being fed by the rain in the hills. There were a few scraggly trees along the banks of the normally dry streambed that only had water when there was runoff from the hills. They watered their horses before Hoss looked for tracks on the other side but couldn't find any.

"Now I tracked him here, and we know he needed water. But where did he go?"

"Could he be following the stream?"

"Well it don't seem likely unless he's losing any idea of where he's going. This stream runs out into the bottomlands here and then dries up, or it heads straight up into them hills. Both ways ain't gonna get him home."

Hoss had been using a torch on and off for hours and his night vision had been affected. Joe's night vision was just fine, and he though he saw something by one of those battered and twisted trees. He walked closer and then yelled before walking into the water where the roots of that tree were exposed. Leaning up against a tangle of roots, Adam did his best to talk although his voice was soft and hoarse, almost a whisper.

"Joe, I thought you were a dream."

"Adam, why are you sitting in the water?"

"I was hot and thirsty. I didn't know what else to do."

"Why didn't you get out when you saw us?"

"I couldn't."

"Let's get you out of here. Pa brought some blankets."

"No blankets. Too hot."

By then, Hoss and Ben were at his side. Hoss lowered the torch he was carrying and illuminated the scene causing Ben and Joe to gasp. Adam's right eye was swollen shut and the left eye was only open about halfway because of swelling. His face was sunburned and battered. He seemed to be severely sunburned everywhere they could see. His wrists were bruised and abraded. They could only guess what his lower body especially his feet looked like because they were concealed in about eight inches of water. Adam didn't want them to move him, but Ben told Hoss they had to so they could evaluate his injuries. Luckily Adam's back wasn't as burned as his front so when Hoss picked him up, he only moaned softly. Ben spread out a bedroll and Hoss placed his older brother gently down on that. For a moment, Ben was still. It was such a contrast to what he had seen that morning when Adam had been teasing his brothers and smiling as he rode off with tools and materials to continue building a new fence. Now he lay on this bedroll shivering and sweating with an occasional soft moan to show how much pain he was in. Adam handled pain well, but this was a lot even for him. He didn't tell them he was fine which was further evidence that he was aware of how badly hurt he was.

"Pa, what do we do? We can't wrap him in blankets cause he's shivering. It would hurt too much, and he's burned enough that it would be too hot." The healer in Hoss felt frustration in this situation.

"Little Joe, could you build up a fire to make some of that tea that Hop Sing sent along. It should help with the shivers and it's soothing for pain too. I think he put a small container of honey in the food sack too. We can put it in the tea to give him some energy. He's exhausted. When it gets light out, we can look at his sunburn and his injuries to see what we should do next. Hoss, please send the two hands to get a wagon. You know how it needs to be set up."

Sitting at Adam's side, Ben had to resist the urge to reach out to touch his son. It would not be soothing in his condition. Even with only a torch and moonlight to survey the damage done, Ben could see that Adam was facing some painful days. Luckily it appeared that nothing was life threatening. Exhausted but feeling safe, Adam fell into a fitful slumber with Ben at his side when he started to have bad dreams. Ben talked softly and calmly to him then and helped him sleep without waking for hours until sunlight and the wagon arrived at about the same time.

Hoss had asked the men to rig the canvas over the back of the wagon and was disappointed to see that had not been done. The men explained that they had everything with them but thought it would be easier to get Adam into the wagon before the canvas was stretched over the top to shield him from the sun. Hoss smiled at their concern for his brother and thanked them. In the light of dawn, Ben and Hoss had sorted through the items that Hop Sing had sent along and found a salve to soothe the worst of the sunburn. Hop Sing had sent more with the men who brought the wagon back as well as some broth in a small pot, and Adam's old soft cotton robe. He hadn't worn since he had gotten a new fashionable maroon one for Christmas years earlier, but it's softness would be soothing and less constricting than anything else he could wear. Ben decided they would get him into the wagon and onto the mattress there before they spread any more salve on him. Once that was done, they fed him some broth and tea until his eye drooped closed, and nothing they said woke him.

"He's as ready as he's going to be for the ride home. Hoss, will you drive us please, and speed is not important. None of Adam's injuries need a doctor's care so we need to give him the smoothest ride we can."

Climbing in the back with their father, Little Joe opened Adam's robe and pulled it to either side so that they could spread more salve as needed and so that there was no irritation of the burned areas. His modesty could be preserved when he was awake and realized that he was naked. Until then, it wouldn't matter. Once they pulled into the yard of the Ponderosa hours later, Hop Sing was waiting for them. He had the downstairs guest room ready for it would be much easier on Adam that way. Hop Sing told them that after a few days, Adam would need a bath every day.

"Every day? Hop Sing, I know Adam likes his baths, but even he never takes one every day."

"Mister Hoss, loose skin from sunburn can hide infection. Must be soaked and removed every day. Keep skin clean and no infection that way."

So salves, tepid baths with gentle working of arms and legs, lots of fluids, and plenty of rest was how Adam spent his days for the next week. The swelling around his eyes diminished although his right eye remained red for some time. The cut on his lip slowly healed. The bruising moved from blue and purple to greenish blues to browns and yellows by the time Doctor Martin visited. Most of the severe bruising on his face, especially along his jaw line, was hidden by the beard he was growing out of necessity. His face was still too tender for shaving.

"Adam, I heard what Hop Sing had determined to be your treatment and decided I didn't need to make a trip out here unless I was summoned. With some accidents in the mines and several babies who decided to make difficult entrances into this world, I've been busy."

"So what brought you to see me today. Have you been summoned?"

"Your right eye. Your father and Hop Sing are concerned about it. I want to take a look at it and check your vision. You still look like you went through hell so I can imagine what you looked like when they brought you home." Paul lit a lamp and set a reflector so he could look closely at Adam's eye. After a few moments, he had a diagnosis. "The surface of your eye is damaged with a number of minute scratches. Hop Sing's eye washes are helping, but time will be the most important factor. I'm going to suggest washing that eye out three times a day. It seems rather dry so the tears are not flowing normally. More frequent eyewashes should help that too. An eye patch for a few days up to a week might be a good idea to let the eye heal without any more irritation. Every time you open your eyes or blink, you're irritating the eye a little."

As a result of the doctor's visit, Adam wore an eye patch for a week. He wore the old and soft cotton robe as his only major article of clothing other than his slippers. His feet were still sore and somewhat swollen so he couldn't fit them in his shoes or boots. Some parts of him were still much too tender for the friction that normal clothing would produce. He wore some old drawers of his father's that were loose enough not to chafe sensitive areas. A few days after his return home, he had managed to do the basic things for his care so that his family could get back to a more normal routine, but one of them was always close by in case he needed something. Nearly every day after his bath, he ventured outside with Hoss or Little Joe helping him and sat on the porch to read. Doctor Martin told him that he would be especially sensitive to the sun most likely for several months at least so he sat in the shade. At lunch time, whoever was at home helped him back into the house for lunch. After lunch, he headed back to the porch again although he was likely to sleep as much or more than he was reading. It was on the porch one afternoon when he had an unexpected visitor. He had been dozing and when he saw an Indian in front of him, he was very startled at first.

"I come in peace, Adam Cartwright."

"I know, Ring Nose. It was just that I was sleeping and didn't know exactly where I was or who you were when I awakened."

"I never got to say what was on my mind when you saved my life and that of my sons. I know you have lost much because of what you did for us. I am sorry that the two Paiute died. Know that I am your friend until the day that I die. You have always acted with honor toward me and toward all including the Paiute even if some do not understand that." The reference was to Young Wolf, and both knew it.

"Thank you. I hope that I can be the friend that you need me to be."

"You already are that, my friend. Know that if you ever need me, you must only let me know, and I will do everything that I can to help you even if it is to give my life for you."

"I couldn't ask that of you."

"You must ask. It is a debt of honor, and I need your pledge that you will accept it. Ring Nose promises his help to you if you need it."

Adam reached out his hand to grasp the forearm of Ring Nose. "I thank you for the offer. I hope I never have to call on you to honor it, but I pledge that I will if I must."

"Know too that Chief Winnemucca has ordered those of the young men who are angry not to harm you. He too understands. You do not need to fear that Paiute or Bannock would take your life."

Without another word, Ring Nose was gone. Inside the house, Ben put the rifle back against the wall where it had leaned for a few weeks. He had overheard what had been said. For now at least, they could relax their guard, but Ben had a feeling that there was worse trouble coming. The whites continued to hunt on Paiute land and some homesteaders and ranchers encroached on their land in a more permanent fashion. Some Paiute as well as some Bannock raided to retaliate for their losses. No lives had been lost but that could change suddenly too. Sooner or later, Ben feared there would be a war. He hoped that his sons were not caught in the conflict. Adam especially had paid a heavy price for trying to help. Ben knew that the next time, it could be worse.

Ben walked outside to talk with his eldest son. Adam turned to greet him.

"You heard?"

Ben rather sheepishly nodded.

"I know you or one of my brothers has been watching me every day. I saw Hoss take a rifle to the forge a couple of days ago. I'm thankful for all that you have done and what my brothers have done."

"It's what a family does. Now at least we don't have to worry about every shadow. If Ring Nose is correct, there is no immediate danger to you."

"Ring Nose would not lie. It seems that Paiute and Bannock do not know how to lie. They tell you exactly what they are thinking."

"I know it was a very difficult time for you, but can you tell me now about what happened to you out there?" Adam had not wanted to talk about what happened. It didn't matter too much because they could guess almost all of it. Ben did think it would be good for Adam to say it though.

"You already know it was Young Wolf. He left me to die. He wanted me to die. He said that if I didn't, the next time we met, he would kill me and take great satisfaction in it."

"Perhaps it was his grief that made him say that."

"No, he meant it. The loss of the two men are my fault as he sees it. If given the chance, he will kill me. I regret that my actions caused him to feel that way, but I can't see that I could have done anything differently. I could not let Ring Nose and his sons die to protect the men who committed the act blamed on the Bannock."

"You did what you thought was right. I don't know that anyone could have done it better. I'm so sorry that you had to pay such a high price for doing the right thing."

"If not for Wilson, it could have been settled more amicably, but there are always people like Wilson."

"He's another one you need to watch. He's told people that he'll kill you if given the chance."

"Then I only have to be careful never to show my back to him. He's a coward. He'll never come at me in a fair fight."

"Do you want to go inside to get ready for dinner now?"

"No, how about seeing if Hop Sing would let us have dinner out here. I feel more free than I have in some time, and Hoss and Little Joe will be home soon. I'd like to tell them about my visitor and the news he brought as well as the promise Ring Nose made to me."


End file.
